Goodbye, middle class

[Egr61]

Families also used to take care of older family members as they age, by having them live with the family when they couldn't provide for themselves anymore. That doesn't happen as much anymore, because families often split up these days, and live in different parts of the country. That trend would change if Social Security were eliminated. My Mother lived with me for awhile before she died. There was no way she could have made enough money in the work place to support herself.

[chrisdfw]

Families also used to take care of older family members as they age, by having them live with the family when they couldn't provide for themselves anymore. That doesn't happen as much anymore, because families often split up these days, and live in different parts of the country. That trend would change if Social Security were eliminated. My Mother lived with me for awhile before she died. There was no way she could have made enough money in the work place to support herself.

But it was not a one sided affair, older family members helped watch the children and passed on thier experiences and knowledge. So many young parents these days are going it alone. That would not have been the case through much of history. They would have had the support of grandparents, and children were also better supervised than they are today.

I don't know your mothers circumstances, but many people could not have afforded to retire in the sense that we think of it, but people can pay off their homes, and put something away. Our standards of living are simply too high.